The miniaturization of semiconductor devices and the like is advantageous in bringing about an improvement in performance and function (higher-speed operation, lower power consumption, etc.) and a reduction in cost and thus has been accelerated more and more. The lithography technique has been supporting this miniaturization and transfer masks are a key technique along with exposure apparatuses and resist materials.
In recent years, the development of the half-pitch (hp) 45 nm to 32 nm generations according to the semiconductor device design rule has been progressing. This corresponds to ¼ to ⅙ of a wavelength 193 nm of ArF excimer laser exposure light. Particularly in the hp45 nm and subsequent generations, only the application of the resolution enhancement technology (RET) such as the conventional phase shift method, oblique illumination method, and pupil filter method and the optical proximity correction (OPC) technique is becoming insufficient, and the hyper-NA technique (immersion lithography) and the double exposure (double patterning) technique are becoming necessary.